Suffolk teenagers who murdered Norfolk teenager sentenced to life

Raymond 'James' Quigley was stabbed in Ipswich last year

Alfie Hammett & Joshua Howell
Author: Sian RochePublished 11th Mar 2024
Last updated 12th Mar 2024

Two teenagers who murdered a Norfolk teenager have been sentenced to life in prison.

18 year old Raymond 'James' Quigley, from Wymondham, was fatally wounded in the attack in Ipswich on January 17th 2023.

19 year old Alfie Hammett, and 19 year old Joshua Howell, were found guilty of his murder at Ipswich Crown Court on 26 January, after a trial lasting over five weeks.

They were sentenced today in the same court.

Alfie Hammett, of Larkhill Rise, Rushmere St Andrew, has been jailed for a minimum of 24 years.

Joshua Howell, of Wellington Street, Ipswich, was jailed for at least 20 years.

What happened?

The incident happened around 3.35pm on Tuesday 17 January 2023, in Westgate Street.

James had travelled to Ipswich from Wymondham that day to meet two friends.

He was walking through the town with them when they encountered Hammett and Howell - who were wearing face masks, had hoods up and were both carrying large knives.

Hammett then ran directly towards James and proceeded to attack him, while Howell – brandishing a machete - chased after one of James’ friends, who managed to escape to safety in a nearby shop.

Howell then ran off up Providence Street, while Hammett – having stabbed James a number of times – ran off in the opposite direction back across the Cornhill.

Following the attack, James managed to stagger across the road to get help and collapsed in a nearby shop.

Members of the public provided initial first aid, whilst police and ambulance crews arrived shortly afterwards.

Despite the best efforts of medical professionals, he died at the scene.

A Home Office post-mortem examination concluded that James sustained four stab wounds to the torso, with two wounds to the chest and abdomen proving to be fatal.

James Quigley

Gang tensions

The attack and the movements of the suspects both prior to the incident and afterwards were captured on CCTV.

Detectives worked over the following four days to identify and locate the suspects, and Hammett and Howell were arrested on Saturday 21 January 2023.

They were taken into police custody for questioning, before being charged with murder two days later.

During the trial, the court heard that the motive for the attack was most likely due to tensions between rival gangs from Norwich.

James Quigley had an association with a gang called ‘OTM’, which stands for ‘Only The Money’.

Hammett – who had previously lived in Norwich – was associated with another gang from there called ‘3rdside’, who were rivals of ‘OTM’.

Joshua Howell had links to the Nacton gang in Ipswich - also known as ‘IP3’ – who the prosecution attest had formed a level of cooperation with ‘3rdside’.

Alfie Hammett did not give evidence during the trial, but his defence disputed that he was the man who attacked James Quigley – referred to as ‘Male 1’ by the prosecution.

Joshua Howell did take the stand to give evidence and denied being affiliated with IP3.

He claimed he had not previously met ‘Male 1’ and said he had gone out to make a drug deal that day and was carrying a machete for his own protection.

He said after making the deal, he had only walked through town with ‘Male 1’ to show him the way to a kebab shop in Westgate Street and the attack had occurred spontaneously, without his prior knowledge.

His defence for drawing his machete was that he feared being attacked by the other group.

The jury rejected Howell’s defence and were also satisfied that the police evidence proved that Alfie Hammett was indeed ‘Male 1’, finding them both guilty by unanimous verdicts on all counts.

Bleed kits campaign

James Quigley and Margaret Oakes

Since his death, James' mother, Margaret Oakes, has spent her time raising money and fighting to get specialist kits, which stem extreme blood loss, installed in the East.

Speaking to Greatest Hits Radio previously, she told us: "I think it's very important that these are out here, because I don't think there's many around, and they're not funded.

"These kits can stop and prevent a bleed. They can help stop lung collapses, if somebody has had a car accident for example."

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